One of my primary goals as a homeschool teacher is to make the Bible our supreme, and favorite, textbook. Here's what I'm doing this year to help accomplish that aim.

1. We have, for the first time, adopted a family verse for the year. "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children, and live a life of love just as Christ loved us." (Eph. 5:1) We recite it daily, and I use it as our springboard for everything thing else.

2. This semester, we're using the "Go to the Ant Chart" by Doorposts (http://www.doorposts.net), plus a drawing journal I created to emphasize a key phrase I have posted by our theme verse: "We can be Christlike as we work." We discuss one portion of the Ant Chart each Monday, and then the kids draw and write in their journals. Next semester, our key phrase will focus on imitating God in our relationships.

3. We are singing around the piano each morning to start our school day this year. I've selected a hymn a month (which relates in some way to our family verse) for which we'll learn all the stanzas. We love the modern praise songs we sing at church, and enjoy all the traditional and new kids' songs, too, but I want my children to enjoy a rich heritage of Christian music. There is so much scripture hidden in old hymns, and this year, we're going to discover some of those hidden treasures. My kids and I love this precious time together! They're singing their little hearts out, and are so proud when they learn the whole song.

4. Another way we're learning to imitate God is to learn more about His character. So, each week, usually on Fridays, we're acting out a Bible story(with costumes)using The Mighty Acts of God: A Guide to Simple Family Drama Times as our text. The book was written by John and Pam Forster, and is available at http://www.doorposts.net. One thing my kids love about this time is that I read directly from the Bible, and they get the WHOLE story. They repeat the dialogue I read for the character they're portraying. We do skip most of the blood and guts scenes, and will revisit those parts of the stories at a more age-appropriate time.

5. Rounding out our intentional Bible instruction is our kids' Bible memory work through involvement with AWANA at church, and their involvement with our home school support group's Keepers and Contenders Clubs. (http://www.keepersofthefaith.com) We usually work on their Bible memory for AWANA on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and Keepers projects on Fridays. We have freedom to choose our Keeper's Bible memory projects, so I choose things that have already been covered, or will be covered soon, in AWANA to help review and cement their memory work.

There's so much to do and learn when it comes to the Scriptures. One thing that really helped me was to chart a teaching plan (or scope and sequence) highlighting the Bible learning goals I have for our kids through middle school. It took a good chunk of time, and it's an evolving project, but it has made the task of spiritual instruction feel more manageable for me. I've already identified several resources that I plan to use in the coming years that seem to fit the learning needs I've identified.

Another thing that helps is to do all of our Bible learning as a team. I adjust expectations for participation based on the kids' ages and ability, (such as work in their drawing journals) but since they're only two years apart, we can do most everything together. The best thing about our Bible learning is that it's fun!

If you have some favorite Bible teaching methods or resources, I'd love to hear your ideas. Please leave your comments below.

Happy Home Schooling,
Mrs. Sherry

Dear Home School Solutions Friends,

Do you remember how exciting it was when the fire fighters brought their trucks to your elementary school and handed out free coloring books?

Don't forget that home schoolers need fire safety lessons, too.



Here are some quick ideas:

1. Plan a "Party with a Purpose" with home school friends. Bake cookies together and make thank you cards to deliver to the local fire station when you go for a tour. (Thanks to Shawn for this idea!)

2. Design a blue print style map of your home and mark all the escape routes. Practice escaping!

3. Test all your smoke detectors, and replace batteries as needed.

4. Remind everyone in your family about your meeting place in case of a fire.

5. Practice the old "stop, drop and roll" drills.

I found the perfect link for all kinds of fire safety week activities. There are great cross-curricular lesson plans and printables for every age group. To access the link, paste and copy this address in your browser:
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson026.shtml

For more great links and interactive online activities with Smokey the Bear, Sparky the Fire Dog and other fun friends, cut and paste this address in your browser:
http://www.ci.union-gap.wa.us/fire/funsStuff.htm

Safe and Happy Home Schooling,
Mrs. Sherry

My favorite conversation to have with a home school mom in September is, "So, what are you doing this year?"

It's a loaded question, and a good one. It means a lot more than "What books are you using?" It also means "What's your family's theme Bible verse this year? What fun field trips do you have planned? Are you involved in a support group this year? A Co-op?"

You see, that's what curriculum is: the sum total of all the resources you're pulling together to make learning happen.

I love to hear what other moms are doing to get new ideas and inspiration. I love to share what we're doing, because it makes me excited to realize how God has put everything together in a way more clever than I could on my own.

So, this will be the first installment in a series of blogs to share what we're doing this year. In this post, I'll list the books we're using. I'd love to hear what you're doing this year, too, so if you have a new favorite resource, please add it in the comment section below.

Happy Home Schooling,
Mrs. Sherry


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Our Eclectic Home School Resource List, 2008-09

Bible: We are using products from www.doorposts.net as our springboard, including The Mighty Acts of God, a guide to dramatizing Bible stories, and the Go To The Ant Chart, a guide to working well. We are in an AWANA club and a Keepers/Contenders Club, too, so that counts as a part of our Bible learning.

Phonics, Reading, Language, Math and Art: A Beka

Spelling: The Natural Speller, by Kathryn Stout

Literature: Across the Centuries 2B (Lifeway) and
Stories and Language Skills by Jean Warren (From The Mailbox/Education Center)

Science: My second grader is continuing to create a notebook based on Magic School Bus books. We supplement with scripture, with Considering God's Creation (Eagle's Wings), and with resources I have on hand. My kindergartener does all the activities with us, but does not keep a notebook.

Social Studies: My second grader is creating a timeline notebook with index cards. We are using the book, History for Little Pilgrims, (Christian Liberty Press) as our springboard. Again, my kindergartener does all the activities with us, but does not keep a notebook.

Other fun:
*We are learning all the verses of one hymn each month.
*We learn to recite a poem or two each month.
*We also read lots of library books of the kids' choosing. (parental approval required)
*We're reading aloud through the Little House chapter books each evening as a family.

Another Favorite Resource:
I love Mailbox Super Books for each grade level featuring lots of ideas for those "fun activities" we sometimes leave out when we adopt a "curriculum-driven" schedule. These books also include reproducibles for basic skills that should be covered for each grade level.

Well, at long last and by popular demand, here are the photos of the Writer's Mini-Office I designed and had on display at the NICHE workshop I presented earlier this year. There are additional photos of this project available in my photo gallery; just click on the tab to your right.

The mini-office is constructed of two file folders glued together. The resources I used for the content are posted below, too. Simply copy the address and paste it into your browser to find the resource. You may have to do a little looking once you get to the site, but there are lots of treasures to be found, so enjoy the hunt!

If you find a great link for mini-offices not listed here, I'd love for you to share your finds in the comment section below.

Happy Home Schooling!
Mrs. Sherry


P.S. Thanks for your patience! I know several of you were waiting for these photos.
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View of outside portion of Writer's Mini-Office

Resources:
Frequently Used Words Chart: I haven't been able to find the link for this particular chart; I'll post it when I find it. You can find lots of other similar charts at the other sources listed.

How to Spell a Word Chart: www.busyteacherscafe.com/teacher_resources/mini_offices.htm

Blends/Special Sounds Chart and Word Wall Words: http://www.teachingheart.net/minioffice.html



View of inside portion of Writer's Mini-Office

Resources:
All of the 5-Step Writing Process Steps, Helps and "Kiss Your Brain" items: Created by S. Fiscella, available by email upon request

Story Words Chart: www.busyteacherscafe.com/worksheets

Power Words: www.edinak12.mn.us (I printed the words, put them in booklet form, and tucked them into a library card glued onto the folder.)

A friend from church, Nicole, shared this cake with our family last year, and then was gracious enough to share the recipe. Usually, I'll choose chocolate every time, but this apple cake is absolutely to die for!

So, when you go to the orchard for your fall field trip, be sure to save some apples to use to bake this cake as a home ec project. Then, go run a mile or two for PE class to make up for it. Talk about a great multi-disciplinary project!

If you try this recipe, be sure to drop a note in the comments section below to let us know how it turned out for you.

Happy Home Schooling!
Mrs. Sherry


P.S. Thank you, Nicole!
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AUTUMN APPLE CAKE

(Hint: Be sure to read the whole recipe before you begin so you have all the ingredients on hand for the cake AND the topping.)

CAKE INGREDIENTS:
4 cups apples, peeled and diced
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt

-Cover apples with sugar for 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until juices have been drawn out.
-Sift dry ingredients together, and add to apples.
-Add in eggs.
-Mix well, then bake in 9x18 pan at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
-While cake is baking, prepare topping as indicated below.

AUTUMN APPLE CAKE TOPPING:
-Combine the following ingredients in a sauce pan:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
7 TBSP flour
2 cups water

-Boil slowly until thickened. Remove from heat and add 1/2 cup margarine or butter and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Pour the topping over the cake as soon as it's baked, and cover with foil until ready to serve.

-Nuts may be added to the cake or the topping if desired.

-This cake is great served warm with vanilla or cinnamon ice-cream!